“My job didn’t exist when I graduated from Amherst. It didn’t exist when I graduated with my Ph.D. But I was able to find it and succeed because Amherst taught me how to adapt, think critically, and carve out a place for myself.”

Lifelong Learning

Flexible Article - Featured Profiles - 02/15/2016

Featured Alumni

Chaka Laguerre ’08

Trainee for the International Court of Justice

Chaka Laguerre ’08 was a first-generation college student. Now, building on her Amherst education, plus her law degree and two master's degrees, she is a trainee for the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. "I am a lawyer by hand and an academic at heart," she says.

Christopher Lim ’12

Ph.D. candidate in the molecular biophysics & biochemistry, Yale University

In the lab, Christopher Lim ’12 studies how HIV evades the defenses of the human body. Outside, he advocates for diversity in STEM fields. Lim credits an Amherst biochemistry class and its professor as his main influences in choosing this area of study. While his career goal is to conduct research at the molecular level, he hopes to do that work with medical needs in mind.

Hillary Blanken Gallo ’88

Founder of Juniper Street Productions

Though she majored in math at Amherst, Hillary Blanken Gallo '88 spent a lot of time with the theater and dance department, serving as stage manager for numerous shows. She also took a semester off to work as a production assistant on a tour of Les Misérables, which led, after her graduation, to a career behind the scenes on Broadway.

Aaron E. Carroll ’94

Pediatrician and columnist for The Upshot at The New York Times

Pediatrician and The Upshot columnist Aaron E. Carroll '94 makes frequent use of an Amherst course he took in law, jurisprudence and social thought. That course, he writes, “has made me more humble about what I ‘know.’ It’s led me to write a few books debunking medical myths. It’s led me to hold greater equipoise about what I might find in my research. Most importantly, it’s led me to bring up ideas in public forums, and to listen to what people say back.”